Asian shares mixed as Wall Street hovers near bear market

Shares were mostly higher in Asia in cautious trading Monday after Wall Street dipped once again to the edge of a bear market.

Tokyo and Sydney gained Monday while Hong Kong declined. Shanghai was little changed and U.S. futures were 1% higher.

Investors were awaiting minutes from the latest policy setting meeting of the Federal Reserve and updates on consumer prices, due later this week.

On Friday the S&P 500 dipped more than 20% below its peak set early this year before buying late in the day gave it a tiny gain. It finished 18.7% below its record. That capped a seventh straight losing week, the longest since 2001, when the dot-com bubble was deflating.

Inflation and rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine, and China’s slowing economy are all punishing stocks and raising fears about a possible U.S. recession.

“Recessionary concerns continue to hold back the buy-the-dippers in Asia today, with Asian stock markets completely ignoring the strong rally by US index futures this morning," Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1% to 27,001.52. Visiting Japan, President Joe Biden launched a fresh U.S. initiative on economic cooperation and trade.

Called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the White House said it will help the United States and Asian economies work more closely on issues including supply chains, digital trade, clean energy, worker protections and anticorruption efforts.

Details remained to be negotiated, making it unclear how the framework might help U.S. workers and businesses while also serving the interests of partner countries.

South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.3% to 2,647.38.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 7,148.90 after Australia’s center-left opposition party on Saturday toppled the...